Why Your Next Social Campaign Needs to Target Millennial Men

Brand marketers, not only those focused on products traditionally marketed to men, like consumer electronics or automobiles, but also categories like beauty and children’s products, will want to read our new special report before finalizing their next marketing campaign. That’s because their strategy could be missing the most important target audience of all: Millennial Men.

That’s right, young men have emerged as the most influential group of all, and one that marketers can’t ignore. Our latest research shows that men like to talk about brands and are more likely to recommend beauty, apparel and household products than older men. Overall, they’re 50% more likely to be key influencers than women the same age.

CEO Ed Keller recently appeared on Fox News 5 to share our findings about this new dynamic. As he points out, young men are more likely than other men to talk about children’s products, such as Barbie and Fisher Price, beauty brands like Nivea, and financial services companies such Bank of America, Citibank, and MetLife.

Watch the full segment and then read our tips below to understand how can brands reshape their strategies to engage these new influencers.

Roll with the expert shopper image

Millennial men are expert consumers who like to know what’s going on and thus are receptive to your marketing, and they also share what they know. They’re more enthusiastic about sharing their opinions and are more engaged with brand marketing than older generations. To capture their attention, brand marketers should embrace Millennial Men’s self-image as “smart shoppers” across a wide variety of categories. This includes less traditional segments such as apparel and beauty. Marketers are more likely to connect with younger men if campaigns show them making educated decisions when buying household goods or apparel.

Design digital media campaigns especially for them

Younger men also are more likely to talk about digital sources of information, such as brand websites, apps, online ads, social media, and consumer review sites than their female peers. Fully 29% of young men’s brand conversations contain a reference to a digital media, compared to 21% of Millennial women.

This means brands can reach young men very effectively through digital channels. Of course, the first step for brand marketers is to understand how Millennial Men are talking about your brand and your competitors. Our analysis shows that every brand has its own unique “Social DNA,” so there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to engaging young men. The only way to develop effective campaigns and messages is to gain a comprehensive view of consumer conversations about your brand and where they are happening.